The present invention relates to deflection electrodes in an ink jet system printer.
In general, in ink jet system printers of types known in the art, charged ink droplets are emitted from a nozzle toward a recording paper. The charged ink droplets are then selectively deflected in response to signals corresponding to the information to be printed as the charged ink droplets pass through appropriate deflection means. The selectively deflected ink droplets are deposited on the recording paper in order to record desired symbols, whereas ink droplets not contributing to writing operation are conducted to a beam gutter for recirculation, as is known in the art. The ink droplets impinging upon the recording paper or the beam gutter are travelling at very high speeds. Accordingly, upon impact small particles break off from the ink droplets and diffuse in various directions. These small particles which break off from the droplets are collectively referred to as ink mist.
When the particles of ink mist attach to the deflection means and gather to form an ink drop, there is a possibility that the ink drop may cause the system to operate erroneously or break down, since the insulation of the system can not be maintained and the electric field established by the deflection means can not be stabilized.